TY - JOUR T1 - Clinical appraisal of arterial stiffness: the Argonauts in front of the Golden Fleece JF - Heart JO - Heart SP - 1544 LP - 1550 DO - 10.1136/hrt.2005.067025 VL - 92 IS - 11 AU - C Vlachopoulos AU - K Aznaouridis AU - C Stefanadis Y1 - 2006/11/01 UR - http://heart.bmj.com/content/92/11/1544.abstract N2 - Interest in evaluating arterial elastic properties has grown in parallel with the widespread availability of non-invasive methods for assessing arterial stiffness. A clinically useful diagnostic index must be pathophysiologically relevant, must be readily measurable, and must indicate the severity of the disease and predict the corresponding risk. Interventional modification of this index must parallel disease regression and benefit prognosis. The current evidence for the clinical value of estimating arterial stiffness (mainly of large, elastic-type arteries, such as the aorta and the carotids) in the contemporary era of cardiovascular medicine is reviewed. ER -